Poker and the Law

[In the interest of full disclosure, I am working with the D.C. Lottery on a related plan, to bring in electronic Instant Ticket Vending Machines (“e-ITVMs”). These will look like the most advanced Class II machines, and will dispense instant lottery tickets.]
 
On June 29, District of Columbia officials held their first, sometimes heated, public hearing on plans to start taking money bets on poker and other games on the Internet, starting in September. Opponents did not want to hear arguments that all D.C. was doing was making legal what was already taking place, only with a local operator and local player deposits.
 
The present plans are 10 to 20 “hot spots,” where anyone 19 and older can bring their own laptop computer and play games for money. Think Starbucks, only with 100 percent legal gambling.
 

By Shari Geller
 
On June 30, a class action suit was brought against Full Tilt Poker for return of players' funds and subsequent damages in excess of $150 million.  The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was brought by Steve Segal, Nick Hammer, Robin Hougdahl, and Todd Terry “on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated” and named nine companies and fifteen individuals including founder Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick, as well as many members of Team Full Tilt are listed including Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

By Shari Geller
 
Full Tilt Poker will be forced to answer some hard questions next week in a public hearing set for July 26, 2011 on the suspension of its license by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission’s (AGCC).   Of particular concern to the AGCC are questions concerning the apparent comingling of players’ funds with the company’s operating costs, the company’s inability to repay money owed to players and the company’s lack of cash flow.
 

By Shari Geller and Lou Krieger
 
Yesterday it was reported by the Los Angeles Times that Full Tilt Poker was being purchased by unnamed European investors.  The article went on to say that, as part of the deal, the new investors were going to repay the money owed to U.S. players, settle the civil complaint brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against Full Tilt and settle the civil case brought by Phil Ivey.   
 

The Supreme Court of Sweden has just ruled that poker is either a game of skill or a game of luck, depending upon the rules.
 
At first, this sounds almost like a joke. But, in fact, the Court got it almost completely correct.
 
The poker game under consideration was Texas hold’em. Certainly, experienced players know this is a game of skill.
 
But courts have been reluctant to rule that any poker game is more skill than chance. Maybe it’s because they fear such a ruling will open the door to widespread cardrooms. Maybe they harbor deep anti-gambling feelings. Or, maybe, they are simply ignorant.
 

By Shari Geller

Yesterday Phil Ivey announced that he had filed suit against Tiltware (the parent company of Full Tilt Poker) and today the actual complaint was released.  In it, Ivey brings six separate causes of action all arising out of the same general claims  –  that Ivey is being prevented by a noncompetition agreement from entering  into other business opportunities following Full Tilt’s recent indictment and that Full Tilt’s conduct has irreparably damaged Ivey’s reputation.  Ivey is seeking damages in excess of $150 million.

By Shari Geller and Lou Krieger

Although one major bank account belonging to Full Tilt Poker was unfrozen in recent days, the company is still not paying back its American customers.  Moreover, Full Tilt has failed to indicate when they will release any funds.   Major figures in Full Tilt’s hierarchy, such as Howard Lederer, have not been seen since the events of Black Friday, and no one associated with the company is willing to speak on the record, with the exception of a recent statement regarding the release of funds that said, “We still do not have a specific timeframe for this.”

By Shari Geller

The biggest news story of today was supposed to the official start of the 2011 World Series of Poker.  Speculation as to how Black Friday would affect this year’s series has swirled around for weeks and when the first official event began, there were a notable number of no-shows.  One of them was Team Full Tilt pro Phil Ivey. 

Any questions about what his non-appearance meant was quickly answered after Ivey went to his official Facebook page and issued a lengthy, serialized statement that has sent shockwaves through the poker community.

Ivey, one of if not the game’s best, stated that he would not be attending this year’s WSOP and went on to say that he had filed suit against Tiltware, the parent company of Full Tilt Poker.  The entire statement reads as follows:

By Shari Geller and Lou Krieger

The indictments handed down by the Department of Justice against three online poker companies and their payment processors are just over a month old, and yet word comes out of New York tonight that the first of the eleven named defendants has already entered a guilty plea.

According to the Associated Press, Bradley Franzen pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court on Monday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and accepting funds in connection with illegal internet gambling.   This information came to AP from Preet Bharara, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, the lead prosecutor on the case.

By Shari Geller and Lou Krieger

With Pokerstars players reporting return of their deposits over the past two weeks, those who have money at Full Tilt Poker have been waiting for their returns to start coming in.  Instead, one month after the DOJ handed down the indictments that closed Full Tilt to US players, those players are no closer to seeing any of their money.